A Year of Making – 2020

Happy New Year’s Eve! One thing that most of us can agree on is that 2020 was a year for making do. I embraced that by simply making as much as I could! My making this year has been varied and so much fun – I’ve knitted, sewed, handsewed, cross stitched, and quilted. I still have lots of other projects on the go that you might have caught glimpses of this year, but I’m only including finished ones here (and I decided to count quilt tops as finished projects because that’s my prerogative!).

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I spent most of this year knitting. I finished 1 sweater for Bryce, 3 sweaters for myself, and hats for Bronwyn and Colton. I dusted off my sewing machine early in the year to make masks, but that was about it. Towards the last quarter, for whatever reason, I shifted back to quilting and handsewing and it was a welcome change.

My Spark cardigan gets worn nearly every day, especially in the early mornings when I’m writing my morning pages and working on my blog. The main yarn is Cascade and it’s pilling like crazy, but I don’t care. It’s bright, crazy cozy, and I loved making it (except for the belt, which I haven’t used since taking that initial picture that’s shown in the collage. I’ve even snipped off the belt loops that I sewed on!). I’m still very tempted to make a second one.

I haven’t worn the skirt since I took the picture earlier this year. I’d like to try sewing more garments for 2021, but I’m very bad at it and struggle with fit. And yet – I dream about a handmade wardrobe that perfectly fits my aesthetics and style. I have enough garment fabric to at least try a few things and since the money is already spent and the fabric is just sitting there… why not? There’s nothing to lose at this point, except for time.

Lately I’ve been trying to embrace the British phrase use it up, wear it out, make it do, or do without. I’d like to kick it up a notch in 2021. I have a big pile of mending that I need to figure out. I’ve never been a good mender nor do I enjoy it, but it’s the responsible thing to do. I’d like to work through my fabric stash by making scrappy quilts and tackling garment projects (as discussed in the previous paragraph). I have quite a bit of stashed yarn that I’d like to work through, as well. So there’s plenty to make do with around here!

I’ve gotten a tremendous amount of motivation from this little blogging community, so thank you! I don’t think I would have been able to do so much this year without the gentle accountability and encouragement that I got from writing about my progress each week. I am so looking forward to embracing 2021 and all it has to offer!